Refrigerator door



Nov. 12, 1935. G. E. FRIEDRICH REFRIGERATOR DOOR Filed Dec. 4, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Nov. 12, 1935.

G. E. FRIEDRICH 2,021,057

REFRIGERATOR DOOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 4, 1955 may Nov.- 12, 1935. E; FRlEDRlcH 2,021,057

REFRIGERATOR DOOR Filed Dec. 4, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 C-Zemye E fiiearich Patented Nov. 12, 1935 UNITED STATES 2,021,057 REFRIGERATOR DooR George E. Friedrich, San Antonio, Tex., assignor to Edward Friedrich, San Antonio, Tex.

Application December 4, 1933, Serial No. 700,929

18 Claims.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in doors for refrigerator cabinets and other similar structures, and it primarily has for its object to provide a door construction and mounting means of such character that it may be embodied in either a vertical door cabinet or an inclined door cabinet and provide a vanishing door whereby a larger opening is obtained when the door is in the opened position and also, when the door is closed a larger display panel is provided than has heretofore been found practicable, so that the butcher behind the counter can get a better view of the contents of the cabinet.

Another object of the invention is to provide a door which will be counterbalanced in such a Way that it can be opened and closed with the least possible effort, and Without the necessity of passing the door through the food space within the cabinet.

Other objects will in part be obvious and in part be pointed out hereinafter.

To the attainment of the aforesaid objects and ends, the invention still further resides in the novel details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, all of which will be first fully described in the following detailed description, then be particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a vertical section on the line 22 of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is an elevation of the structure shown in Figure 1, looking from left to right.

Figure 3 is an elevation of the door, looking at the inner side of it.

Figure 4 is a detail perspective view of a portion of the invention.

Figure 5 is a detail cross section on an enlarged scale on the line 5-5 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is an enlarged elevation of the upper left-hand corner of the door shown in Figure 3, looking from left to right in that figure.

Figure '7 is a front perspective View of a modification of the invention.

Figure 8 is a detail perspective view, similar to Figure l, of the modification shown in Figure '7.

In the drawings in which like numeral of reference designate like parts in all of the figures, i represents an end or partition wall of the cabinet which supports the groove member 2, the latter having a groove running from the back to the front of the cabinet and including the downwardly extending front end 4 which runs ap-" proximately parallel to the plane of the door when closed, the backwardly curved portion 3, the

downwardly dipped portion 5, and the upwardly inclined rear end 6.

1 represents cleats that are secured to the end walls I and cooperate with the sill cleat 8 to form a U-shaped abutment against which the correspondingly shaped sealing gasket 21 hereinafter again referred toseats.

The upper ends of the cleat 1 are curved as at l 3, the purpose of which will later appear.

At the inner side of the cleat 8 is a bottom guard strip 9 which cooperates with the guard strips I0 to form a U-shaped frame to cooperate with the sides 23 of the door sash as a closure for the door mounting members 34 and. 35 to shut them off from view through the front of the cabinet. 7

The upper ends of the side guard strips l0 are notched at H and curved at 12 for the purpose of permitting the free passage of the door in swinging it from the closed to the opened position. 7

The upper bar M of the front wall carries an abutment gasket 15 that is secured in place by a suitable clamp plate 16 screwed or otherwise S3: cured to the bar I4. I8 designates the window sill on which the cleat 8 and the guard strip 9 are mounted. It is to be noted that the side and sill cleats l and 8 are set in from the face of the cabinet so that when the door is closed the face of the door will be flush with the face of the cabinet.

On each side cleat I there is mounted a spring anchorage bracket [9 and a door supporting bar pivot 20, the purpose of which will be obvious.

The door comprises a sash 2| and includes the sides 23 and bottom bars 4| which are inset from the outer edges of the door to form a recess 26 for the reception of the side and bottom gaskets This gasket is held in place by suitable clamp strips 28 secured to the door sash by screws, or in any other suitable way.

The sides of the door sash are cut away as at 22 in order to slip over the notched and curved ends II and I2 of the side guard strips ID as the door is raised from the closed to the opened position. This enables the side guard strips ID to be carried upwardly above the ends of the side cleats l and effectively closes off from View through the front of the cabinet the upper end of the gasket 21, as well as aids in the sealing of the cabinet when the door is closed.

24 represents the glass of the door which is held in place by the usual securing bead 25.

It will be observed that the gasket recess 26 on the sides of the. door is curved inwardly at 29 to cooperate with the curved portion I3 of the side cleats 1 when the door is closed. Therefore the gasket 21 not only lies in contact with the outer edge of the cleats 8 and l but with the upper curved ends 13 thereof and the extreme in-' ner ends of the gasket 21 engage the upper ends of the side guard strips H] where they extend which the door supporting flat rods 34 are pivoted and to which the door balancing springs 35 are hooked. j I

' The door supportingrods 34 are also pivoted on the door bar pivots 20, mounted on the side cleats 1. It is to be observed that each pair of bars and springs lie in the space between the sides 23 of the door sash and the cleats 1. It is also to be observed (see Figure 2) that the side guard strips lfl'are of greater width than the depth of the recesses 26 and 22; hence they completely shield the springs 35 and the rods 34 fromviewthrough the glass front 40 of the cabinet.

The door is provided with a suitable latch 38 and a suitable latch keeper 3'! is mounted on the sill l8 so that the door may beheld in its closed position.

In order to open the door the-operator simply grasps the handle of the latch 38 and gives aslight .lift to move the centers 2l]-333ll out of alignment. As soon as they have been moved out of alignment the springs 35 begin to act to counterbalance the weight of the door. In practice I prefer to so tension the springs 35 that by the time the door is moved to the inclined,

dotted line, position in Figure 1, the tension of the springs will completely counterbalance the weight of thedoor, but when'the door passes downwardly from the inclined, dotted line, po sition in Figure 1, the weight of the door'will be lsufficient to overcome the weight of the spring pull and permit the door to snap shut, thereby insuring a tight closure of the doorje'ven though the operator of the door be careless in its manipulation.

As the door is moved from the closed to the fully opened position (see approximately horizontal dotted line position, Figure 1) the roller 30 passes along the slot i-356 to locate the open door entirely within the top space of'the cabinet. At no timedoes the door pass through the food compartment of the cabinet below the 7 top space.

In the modification shown in Figures 7 and 8 it will be seen that instead of placing the gaskets 21 and 32 (see Figures 3 and 6) on the door, a

gasket 21a is placed on the cleats I and 8 and a second gasket 21?) is placed on the guard strips 8 and 9. Also, instead of placing the gasket 32 on the door, it is secured to the back rail 39, as indicatedat 32a in Figure 8.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it is thought that the complete construction, arrangement and advantages of my invention will be clear to those skilled in the art. r

'What I claim' is: 1. -In a refrigerator havingja doorway, side and bottom c'leatsin said doorway, the front faces of all said cleats constituting a doorstop, a door located in said doorway and having side and hottom portions, the side portions and the bottom portion, of said door on the inner face having a gasket to seat on said cleats when the'door is closed, said door having a gasket along the outor topedge, said refrigerator having a cross bar against which said last named gasket seats when the door is closed, bars pivotally mounted on the lower sides of thedoor and on said side cleats and within the bounds of the doorway, springs secured to said door sides hear the bottom of the 5 door and 'pivotally secured to said side cleats intermediate the top and bottom of the doorway,

and rollers and slotted guides for the upper ,end

of the door.

2. In a refrigerator having a doorway, side and 7 bottom cleats in said doorway offset from the outer plane of the doorway, the front faces of all I said cleats constituting a door stop, a door located insaid doorway and havingside and bottom portions, the side portionsand the bottom portion of said door on the inner face having a:

gasket to seat on said cleats when the door is closed, said door having a gasket along the-outer top edge, said refrigerator having a cross bar against which said last named gasketseatswhen the door is closed, bars pivotally mountedon the lower sides near the bottom of the'door and pivotally secured to said. side cleats intermediate the] top and bottom of the doorway and located within the bounds of the doorway, and rollers and 35 V slotted guides for the upper end of the door.

3. In a refrigerator having a'doorway, side and bottom cleats in said doorway, the front faces of all said cleats constituting a door stop, adoor located in said doorway and having side and bot- 40 tom portions, the side portions and the bottom portion of said'door on the inner face having a gasket to seat on said cleats when the door isclosed, said door having a gasket along the outer top edge, said refrigerator having a cross bar against which said last named gasket seats when the door is closed, a latch device to hold the door closed, bars pivotally mounted 'on the lower sides of the door and on said" side cleats, springs secured to said door sides near the bottom of the door and pivotally secured to said side cleats intermediate the top and bottom of the doorway, said bars and said springs being located within the bounds of the doorway and within recesses in the sides of the door when the door is closed,

and rollers and slotted guides for the upper end of the door.

4, In a refrigeratorhaving a doorway, side and bottom cleats in said doorway, the front faces of all said cleats constituting adoor stop, a door 10 cated in said doorway and having side and bot tom portions, the side portions and the bottom portionjof said door on the inner face having a gasket to seat on said cleats when the door is- 7 closed, said door having a gasket along the outer top edge, said refrigerator having a cross bar against which said last named gasket'seats when the'door is closed, bars pivotally mounted on the lower'sides of the door and on said side cleats, springs secured to said door sides near the bottom of the door and pivotally secured to said side cleats intermediate the top and bottom of the doorway, and rollers and slotted guides for the upperend of the door, said bars and springs constituting toggle connections between said door and cabinet when the door is shut, said bars and said springs being located within the bounds of the doorway and within recesses in the sides of the door when the door is closed.

5. In a refrigerator cabinet, a door and a doorway, a bottom and side abutments mounted within the doorway and opposite which the inner faces of the bottom and sides of the'door sash lie when the door is closed, a gasket carried by said inner face along the bottom and sides to engage said abutments when the door is closed, said cabinet having an outer abutment at the top of the doorway, a gasket carried by the upper portion of the door toengage said outer abutment when the door is closed, and means to mount the door for opening and closing movement so as to disappear within the top of the cabinet when in the opened position and to close said doorway when in the closed position, said door-mounting means comprising rollers on the sides near the upper end of the door, grooved guideways at the sides of the doorway within the cabinet adjacent the top of the doorway, arms pivoted to the door and to the doorway and located within the bounds of the doorway and within recesses in the sides of the door when the door is closed and means for holding the door shut.

6. In a refrigerator cabinet, a door and a doorway, a bottom and side abutments mounted within the doorway and opposite which the inner faces of the bottom and sides of the door sash lie when the door is closed, a gasket carried by said inner face along the bottom and sides to engage said abutments when the door is closed, said cabinet having an outer abutment at the top of the doorway, a gasket carried by the upper portion of the door to engage said outer abutment when the door is closed, and means to mount the door for opening and closing movement so as to disappear within the top of the cabinet when in the opened position and to close said doorway when in the closed position, said door-mounting means comprising rollers on the sides near the upper end of the door, grooved guideways at the sides of the doorway within the cabinet adjacent the top of the doorway, arms pivoted to the door and to the doorway, balancing springs anchored at one end each to the arm pivots of the door and anchored at their other ends to the sides of the doorway, and a latch to hold the door shut, said arms and springs being located within the bounds of the doorway and within recesses in the sides of the door when the door is closed.

'7. In a refrigerator cabinet, a door and a. doorway, a bottom and side abutments mounted within the doorway and opposite which the inner face of the bottom and sides of the door sash lie when the door is closed, a gasket carried by said inner face along the bottom and sides to engage said abutments when the door is closed, said cabinet having an outer abutment at the top of the doorway, a gasket carried by the upper portion of the door to engage said outer abutment when the door is closed, and means to mount the door for opening and closing movement so as to disappear within the tp of the cabinet when in the opened position and to close said doorway when in the closed position, said door-mounting means comprising rollers on the sides near the upper end of the door, grooved guideways'at the sides of the doorway within the cabinet adjacent the top of the doorway, arms pivoted to the door and to the doorway, balancing springs anchored at one end each to the arm pivots of the door and anchored at their other ends to the sides of the doorway, and a latch to hold the door shut, the points of pivot of said arms to said door and doorway and the points of spring anchorage of said springs to said door and doorway lying in approximate alignment, when the door is closed, as a toggle, said arms and said springs lying within the bounds of the doorway and within recesses in the sides of the door when the door is closed.

8. In a refrigerator cabinet, a door and a doorway, a bottom and side abutments mounted within the doorway and opposite which the inner face of the bottom sides of the door sash lie when the door is closed, a gasket carried by said inner face along the bottom and sides to engage said abutments when the door is closed, said cabinet having an outer abutment at the top of the doorway, a gasket carried by the upper portion of the door to engage said outer abutment when the door is closed, the upper extremities of the gasket at the sides of the door overlying the upper ends of the side abutments, and means to mount the door for opening and closing movement so as to disappear within the top of the cabinet when in the opened position and toclose said doorway when in the closed position, said door-mounting means comprising rollers on the sides near 'the upper end of the door, grooved guideways at the sides of the doorway within the cabinet adjacent the top of the doorway, arms pivoted to the door and to the doorway, balancing springs anchored at one end each to the arm pivots of the door and anchored at their other ends to the sides of the doorway, and a latch to hold the door shut, the points of pivot of said arms to said door and doorway and the points of spring anchorage of said springs to said door and'doorway lying in approximate alignment as a toggle when the door is closed, said arms and said springs lying within the bounds of the doorway and within recesses in the sides of the door when the door is closed.

9. In a refrigerator cabinet, a door and a doorway, a bottom and side abutments mounted within the doorway and opposite which the. inner face of the bottom and sides of the door sash lie when the door is closed, a gasket carried by said inner face along the bottom and sides to engage said abutments when the door is closed, said cabinet having an outer abutment at the top of the doorway, a gasket carried by the upper portion of the door to engage said outer abutment when the door is closed, means including arms and springs to mount the door for opening and closing movement so as to disappear within the top of the cabinet when in the opened position and to close said doorway when in the closed position, and guard strips carried by the cabinet at the sides of the said doorway to hide said arms and springs from view through a transparent front of the cabinet.

10, In a refrigerator cabinet, a door and a doorway, a bottom and side abutments mounted within the doorway and opposite which the inner face of the bottom and s'des of the door sash lie when the door is closed, a gasket carried by said inner face along the bottom and sides to engage said abutments when the door is closed, said cabinet having an outer abutment at the top of the doorway, a gasket carried by the upper por tion of the door to engage said outer abutment when the door is closed, the upper extremities of the gasket at the sides of the door overlying the upper ends of the side abutments, means including arms and springs to mount the door for opening and closing movement so as to disappear within the top of the cabinet when in the opened position and to close said doorway when in the closed position, and guard strips carried by the cabinet at the sides of said doorway to hidfi said arms and'springs from view through a transparent front of the cabinet. 7

11. In a refrigerator cabinet, a door and a doorway, a bottom and side abutments mounted Withinthe doorway and opposite which the inner v face of ctherbottom and the sides of the door sash lie when the door is closed, agasket carried by said inner face along the bottom and sides to engage said abutments when the door is closed,

saidcabinet having an outer abutment at the top of the doorway, a gasket carried by the upper portion of the. door to engage said outer abutment when the door is closed, means to'mount the door for opening and closing'movement so as to'disappear Within the top of'the cabinet when in the opened position and to close said doorway when in the closed position, said doormounting means comprising rollers on the sides near the upper end of the door, grooved guidewaysat the sides of, the doorway within the cabinet adjacent/the top of the doorway, arms pivoted to the door and to the doorway and means for holding the door shut, andguard strips carried by'the cabinet at the sides of said doorway to hide said arms from view through a'transparent front of the cabinet.

12. 111 a refrigerator cabinet, a door and a doorway, a bottom and side abutments mounted within the doorway and opposite which the inner face of the bottom and sides of thedoor sash lie when the door is closed, a gasket carried by .said inner face'along the bottom, and sides to engage said abutments'when'the door is closed, said cabinet having an outer abutment at the top of the doorway; a gasket carried by the upper portion of the door to engage said outer abutmentwhen the door is closed, the upper extremities of the gasket at the sides of the door overlying the upper ends of the side abutments, means to mount the door for opening and closing movement so as to disappear within the top of the cabinet when in the opened position and to close said doorway when in the closedposit'ion, said doorrmounting means comprising rollers on the sides near the upper end of the door, grooved guideways, at the sides of the doorway within the cabinet adjacent the top of the doorway, arms pivoted to the door and to the, doorwayrand means for holding the door shut, and guard strips carried by the cabinet at the sides of said door way to hide said arms from view through a transparent front of the cabinet.

13.111 a; cabinet having a transparent front and having a doorway in its back wall, a door-.

receiving space in its top, a door to close said doorway, said door including afram'e having recessed sides and bottom, a flexible sealing gasket mounted in the recess, the free ends of said gasketcurving over to the inner face of the door, side cleats having curved upper ends and a bot tom 'cleat held in said doorway, bottom and side guard plates adjacent said cleats, the side guard plates extending above said cleats, guideways eX-H tending from the upper ends of said side cleats inwardly beneath the top of the cabinet, said gasket lying against said bottom and said side cleats with the curved upper portions overlying 'the curved upper ends of said side eleats'and the ends of said gaskets engaging the upwardly extending portions of said side guard plates, a

'cross bar'over said doorway on the outside of the same, a gasket carried by the upper end of said door toextend along the outer face of the same and engage said cross bar, arms pivoted to the side cleats andcto the door, guide rollers on the upper portions at the sides of said door for 'riding in said guideways, and springs connected 5 7 to said door and to the cabinet for tending to lift the door into the top of the cabinet, said arms and said springs lying within the bounds of the doorway and Within recesses in the sides of the door when the door is'closed. i

14.-In a cabinet having a transparent front and having a doorway in its back wall, a doorreceiving space in its top, a door to close said doorway, said door including a framehaving're cessed sides and bottom, a flexible sealing gasket mounted in the recess, the'iree ends of said gasket curving over to the inner face of the door; side cleats having curved upper ends and a bottom oleat held in" said doorway, bottom and side:

guard plates adjacent. said cleats, the side guard plates extending above said cleats, guideways'ex tending from the upper ends of said side cleats inwardly beneath the top of the cabinet, said gasket lying against :s'aid bottom and saidiside cleats with the curved upper portions overlying the curved upper ends of said side cleats and the ends of said gaskets engaging the upwardly ex-' tending portions of said side guard plates, a cross bar over said doorway on the outside of the Sama a gasket carried by the upper end of said door to extend along the outer face of the same and engage-said crossbar, arms pivoted to. the 7 side cleats and to the door, guide rollers on the upper portions at the sides of said door for riding in said guideways, and springs connected to said 5 7 door and to the cabinet for tending to lift the door into the top of the cabinet, said guard plates'in the doorway serving to'shield the door springs and arms from view through the front of the cabinet. 7 V

15. In a refrigerator cabinet, a door and an inclined doorway, bottom and side abutments mounted within the doorway and opposite which the inner faces of the bottom and sides of the door sash lie when the door is closed, the side abutments extending upwardly from the bottom abutment to adjacent the top ofthe doorway gaskets carried by the outer faces of said bottom and side abutments to be engaged by the inner faces of the bottom and sides of the door .when' closed, said cabinet having an outer abutment recesses in the sidesof the door when the door is closed.

16. In a refrigerator cabinet, a door and a doorway, bottom and side abutments mounted within the doorway and opposite which the inner face of thedoor lies when the door is closed,

gaskets carried by said abutments and interposed between the same and the door when closed, said cabinet having an outer abutment .across the top of the doorway, a gasket carried by said outer abutment to be engaged by the door when closed, means which includes arms and springs to mount the door for opening and closing movement so as to disappear within the top of the cabinet when the door is in the opened position and to close said doorway when the door is closed, guard strips carried by the cabinet at the sides of said doorway and gaskets carried by said guard strips to be engaged by the door when closed, a guard strip carried by the cabinet across the bottom of the doorway in the plane of the aforementioned guard strips, and a gasket carried by said last-named guard strip to cooperate with the gaskets of the aforementioned guard strips.

17. In a refrigerator having a doorway, side and bottom cleats located in said doorway, the front faces of all said cleats constituting a door stop, a door located in said doorway and adapted to ride over the upper ends of the side cleats when the door is being opened, said door having its sides recessed from the back, a bar and a spring located in each recess, means pivotally connecting the bars and springs to the door near its lower edge along a common axis, means for pivoting the upper ends of said bars along a common axis to the sides of the doorway, other means pivoting said springs along a common axis to the sides of the doorway, all said pivotal axes lying in a common plane when the door is closed,

thereby constituting a toggle, means for mounting the upper end of the door to the cabinet for, pivotal and sliding movement whereby the door when opened may be located within the top of the cabinet, said refrigerator having a cross bar at the top of the doorway against which the outer upper edge of the door lies when the door is closed, and suitable gaskets for sealing the joints between the door and doorway when the door is closed.

18. In a refrigerator having a doorway, side and bottom cleats located in said doorway, the front faces of all said cleats constituting a door stop, a door located in said doorway and adapted to ride over the upper ends of the side cleats when the door is being opened, said door having its sides recessed from the back, a bar and a spring located in each recess, means pivotally connecting the bars and springs to the door near its lower edge along a common axis, means for pivoting the upper ends of said bars along a common axis to the sides of the doorway, other means pivoting said springs along a common axis to the sides of the doorway, all said pivotal axes lying in a common plane when the door is closed, thereby constituting a toggle, means-for mounting the upper end of the door to the cabinet for pivotal and sliding movement whereby the door when opened may be located within the top of the cabinet, said refrigerator having a cross bar at the top of the doorway against which the outer upper edge of the door lies when the door is closed, suitable gaskets for sealing the joints between the door and doorway when the door is closed, said recessed sides cooperating with the adjacent side cleats to constitute enclosures for the rods and springs when the door is in the closed position.

GEORGE E. FRIEDRICH. 

